Press Release

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Meagan Baron

Marketing Coordinator

Rainy Day Basement Systems

1-360-435-6992

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Pollen or Mold?

Don't confuse mold exposure with allergies. Mold spores can be found on any type of damp organic material and exposure can cause irritation to the eyes, nose, skin, throat and lungs. When the weather heats up, it can cause a lot of condensation in the cooler lower levels of them home, causing mold to grow. Make sure your home's crawl space or basement isn't a making you a victim to mold.

Spring is officially here! The birds are chirping, the bees are buzzing, and pollen is drifting through the air. People are generally anxious to get out and enjoy the nice weather. However, too often there is something that commonly holds people back, allergies. Extensive measures are taken to combat allergies; some people stay indoors while others overdo it with Benadryl. Yet most will continue to suffer and complain of allergy symptoms. Again and again people try to treat the symptoms and fail to consider that the real culprit could actually be something within their home’s living space.

As warm air rises through a home and escapes out of its upper levels, new air must be brought in to replace it. This upward movement of air creates a natural convection current that literally sucks air from the lower levels of the home, most often through the basement or crawlspace. This type of ventilation and air movement within the building can cause vast amounts of moisture and condensation to develop in the lower levels of the home, dampening all of the organic materials the home is made of as well as organic storage items. Where there is moisture and damp organic materials to feast there is mold.

Mold spores can be found on any type of damp organic material such as paper, cardboard, wood and drywall. If the environment is dry enough, the mold spores can lay dormant for years, but as soon as moisture is added, the spores will be stimulated and can begin to spread. Symptoms of mold exposure are very similar to those of allergies, including irritation to the eyes, nose, skin, throat and lungs. The ultimate difference is the long-term effects that mold exposure can have.  Often they are much more severe than seasonal allergies. According to an Institute of Medicine report, there was sufficient evidence to connect humid indoor environments and some upper respiratory tract symptoms, cough, wheeze, and asthma symptoms in sensitized persons.

There are many approaches to protecting a home’s organic materials and the living environment from the effects of mold. Dan Malsch, owner at Rainy Day Basement Systems in Arlington, says the most effective way to combat mold is “to be proactive and control the seepage and airborne moisture issues in your basement and crawlspace areas.” These parts of a home are typically damp and give the molds in those areas an opportunity to colonize and spread throughout the rest of the residence.

To best protect a basement or crawl space from the effects of mold, the organic materials must be isolated from the damp earth and the humidity must be controlled. Encapsulated crawlspaces and basements are dry healthy spaces and Rainy Day Basement Systems has helped hundreds of homeowners get control of these formerly unhealthy environments below their homes. To further assist in the process, a whole house dehumidifier and air filtration system should be considered as well. These proactive steps, along with a few other situation specific approaches can do a lot to help prevent mold. The benefits these approaches can have for an individual’s health in addition to protecting the home simply cannot be measured.